An overview from a business perspective on

the knowledge economy

• Elucidate knowledge as the centre of

economic growth and development

• Lack of skills = lack of “know how”

• Confidence of the business community

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• What happened here?

• Irrespective – knowledge plays a crucial part

• Knowledge feeds resource application

• Skills in terms of engineering and

construction

• In brief – what really happened here

Military spend

Expertise exodus

Schooling

Culminating in…© Steyn Heckroodt

© Steyn Heckroodt

Data

Information

Knowledge

Understanding

Wisdom

© Steyn Heckroodt

The concept that supports creation of

knowledge by employees and helps them to

better utilize this in line with

company/organization goals

Whilst

A business has as one of its main objectives

the receipt or generation of a financial return in

exchange for work and acceptance of risk

• Risk and return

• Invest – return – risk profile

• Where is risk measured – conceptually or

physically

• Where is risk mitigated – conceptually or

physically

© Steyn Heckroodt

© Steyn Heckroodt

Conceptual – values, vision, mission, intent – where we

PLAN things

Physical – processes, infrastructure, activities –

where we DO things

© Steyn Heckroodt

• Risk measured in the physical reality

• Mitigated in the physical reality

• Critical path

• Risk factor analysis

• Decision then made against ROI

A

Place order

0 5 5

D 11

6 5 11

B 185

6 180 186

C 16

6 10 16

187 F

187 9 196

E

187 13 200

197 G 221

197 24 221

222 H

Collect money

222

ES ID EF

SL Description

LS Dur LF

© Steyn Heckroodt

• Risk mitigation and ex-pat labour

• Higher cost of labour input

• Typically in higher risk areas (knowledge-

wise)

• Higher ROI expectations

• Larger pull on foreign reserves

• Country’s wealth and prosperity impacted

© Steyn Heckroodt

• Conclusion

• Business competitiveness measured in

terms of competitive ability

• CA = application of resources

• Resources = financial, infrastructural,

people, information and knowledge

• Shortage of any of these = higher risk, lower

confidence and coinciding higher

© Steyn Heckroodt

• Two edged sword

• Don’t have own knowledge = Sudan example

• Higher reliance on FDI = stronger pull on exit

of foreign reserves in the form of dividend

payouts